


Alas Her Endurance is Sound

by CreativeCalavera



Series: A Warped Caretaker [4]
Category: Undertale (Video Game)
Genre: F/M, OC has mage powers now, OC is a woman researcher, Original Character will never have romantic feelings towards the Skeleton brothers, She will get depressed or unstable over time
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2020-02-25
Updated: 2020-03-04
Packaged: 2021-02-27 21:01:43
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Graphic Depictions Of Violence, Major Character Death
Chapters: 13
Words: 15,141
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/22892167
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/CreativeCalavera/pseuds/CreativeCalavera
Summary: Book Four.There has been a time skip. After being dragged to different timelines, Calypso hoped that the latest will be her last travel. On the other hand, another monster needs her to complete a storyline. Calypso is dragged along until a certain event (or a chain of events) sparked her innovation to experiment with reality. Again.XTale belongs to XTale Gaster and Jakei95.Dreamtale belongs to jokublog.Inktale belongs to Comyet.Calypso & Stradakum belongs to CreativeCalavera (me).All events of "Warped Caretaker" are purely fanfiction and are not canon in the Underverse.
Relationships: Dreamtale Sans/Original Character(s), Xtale Gaster/Original Character(s)
Series: A Warped Caretaker [4]
Series URL: https://archiveofourown.org/series/1614217
Comments: 1
Kudos: 8





	1. A Sound Body is a Sound Body

**Author's Note:**

> Review from Book 3. The development of traveler Calypso.

There is a human dragged from her own timeline into a branch of more timelines. When she tried returning to her roots, she was lifted to another branch. She looks down and knows she has a far way to go.

Started with her son’s curiosity, then playing with a mysterious substance that belongs to the ancient underground civilization of the Dark World. Calypso had been torn away from her own sons to another timeline.

She was transported to the Underfell timeline, where she met the edgy nature of Gaster and the Skeletons. She noticed that the history had been altered. That the Skeletons' past is changing. The pattern continued to the following timeline, Underswap. There was never Mr. and Mrs. Skeleton. Only Gaster or River Person as their caretaker. Sometimes, one of the brothers took care of the other.

All the time, everyone was changing around her. Calypso can't keep track of who's who.

Along her journeys, she’d encountered alternate versions of her own friends and family. Her own sons, with different personalities and looks, and her former neighbors, whether they are kings or queens, and obstacles that endangers her life, like Gaster and Lab Person.

Calypso had tried manipulating the monster scientists in each timeline to fix the machine. To modify its purpose and bring her home. However, as the usual work of a researcher, she had met failures.

After every travel, she felt like a piece of her humanity is scraped away. Her body felt more numb.

In her dreams, visions of a woman surrounded by clouds and a bubble would appear. After she wakes, she forgets everything. Then, after traveling to the Underswap timeline, where she met the pink ghost and the bright-eyed Sans, a faint disturbance haunted around her.

The singing echoes through her ears. It occurs when she teleports, when someone teleports her, or suffering a mental episode. That’s why she must avoid any monster with teleportation powers.

The woman tries to stay away from the Skeleton brothers, thinking that they are her curse. Whether she remain hidden from everyone, she was either discovered or captured. One skill she succeeded was storytelling. She created cover stories and white lies that protected her identity until she meets one of the smart monsters, Gasters, Lab Person’s, and occasionally a nerdy Undyne. And they were always try getting her soul.

However, she was surprised that they haven’t killed her yet. In every encounter, either they couldn’t extract it, or she was stalling. She doesn’t know about Underswap Lab Person’s analysis. She doesn’t know that her soul is missing.

The woman had now traveled to the twelfth timeline. Her latest timeline was the Horror timeline, where she barely escaped. In the following timeline, she was broken. She was traumatized after seeing the corruption of the starved monsters. Along with new abilities she had gained besides teleportation, she was foreign to herself. When she is found, the next monsters and people will be confused about her true nature. 

Especially, a Gaster. The ghoul who had total control of this timeline.

Xtale.

This is where Calypso makes a breakthrough with her personal project.


	2. The Tattoo Promotion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso succeeded at becoming a knight at this timeline. She earns a tattoo. Frisk wanted to get close to Calypso. She patrols a park.

Calypso was nervous, anxious. She wore a white towel around her chest. Her thick brown hair was tied into a bun. She wore dark brown dress pants tied with an elastic string.

“Okay, Cal, you got this!” she whispered to herself, “This is the twelfth timeline! We’ve made it this far! 12th time is the charm!”

She splashed water to her face before drying it with another towel. Her fingers adjusted to the towel around her chest again. By the side of the sink, there was a pile of knight uniform in a wooden bin.

“Okey, this won’t take long!” Cal thought to herself in excitement. She opened the bathroom door and walked out. The next room was like a small studio, old-fashioned. There was a bed in the middle of the room. There was monsters and a human around it. They turn to her when she hummed loudly to herself.

One of the monsters was Gaster, standing tall with his uniform. Alongside him is King Asgore and other monster soldiers. They all blushed, never seeing her without her knight uniform before.

The woman planted herself to the bed with her stomach down. “I’m ready for the tattoo!”

Asgore chuckled and nodded, “Yes, congratulations again for your new rank.”

Gaster opened a book that showed the history of the X-mark tattoo.

“This tattoo serves as your position in the military.”

Gaster nodded, following Asgore’s short lecture. He glanced at the human tattoo artist polishing the needles. He grimaced and sighed, “Let’s hope you don’t cry like our previous soldiers. Humans are known to be more tolerant to the tattoo process than monsters.”

Calypso waved them off, “Yeah, yeah. I’ll see you guys after.” The tattoo artist created a whirring sound with their needles. The guests quickly dismissed themselves.

…

There are two royal guards who looked after a human child. As infamous to Calypso’s knowing, the two characters are the constant of her travels. Sans and Papyrus. They were enjoying themselves with a human named Frisk. They were at a small festival where a village is celebrating. The crops were growing strong this summer. Frisk, as the human ambassador of the underground, was invited to join the small festival. The trio cheered with mugs of root beer. Usually, they had a third guard with them, but she’s busy now. Sans had his eyes closed for a moment, relaxed.

“Hey! Where’s Cal?”

Sans opened one of his eyes and looked around. Usually, she is stationed by the door at any place Frisk was at. He shrugged, “I dunno. Maybe some promotion?”

Papyrus gaped at him, “You dunno-? She’s having her promotion ceremony today! She’s receiving an X-mark for her succession with her missions!”

Sans seemed displeased. “A tattoo? That’s it?!”

Frisk smiled. They noticed how Sans is egging his brother for a rant.

Papyrus’ eyes popped out. “It’s not just a tattoo! It’s the symbol of supreme hero! You’re just jealous-”

The older brother rolled his eyes and glanced at the doorway again. Soon after, there was a cheer from fellow guards. They turned and saw the human woman with her neck wrapped in a white cloth. She had a black dress shirt and a stern white jacket over it. On the outside layer, there was a silver armor with an X-mark white wrap in front of her chest. She had black dress pants white her brown combat shoes. Her hands were protected by brown gloves.

“Oh, there’s Cal,” Frisk said, waving, “Hi, Cal!” The woman nodded.

When she was detected, other people turn to her and cheered. Some raise their cups as a toast. Calypso turned away and stood by the door.

Frisk sighed, “I’ve known Cal for a few months now, but she isn’t very open with me.” Sans took a sip. Papyrus was still lecturing him by the side of his head. “Yeah, she takes her job too seriously,” Sans said.

Papyrus got even madder. “Of course, she does! That’s how she’s promoted, you lazy sack of bones!”

Frisk glanced at Calypso and slightly frowned.

In the later day, Frisk was with the royal family. Cal patrolled the streets but was more relaxed. People who were passing by recognized her uniform and waved at her. She nodded in acknowledgement and continued walking.

“This timeline is pretty weird,” she thought. Her eyes glanced at the familiar buildings. “Everything is like black and white. Maybe with a sepia filter over this world.”

There were small houses and small-town market place by the park. Chatter among couples who were strolling. Families were gathered by the food, maybe improvising with their dinner. Calypso quickly stopped, feeling a gentle bump on her waist. A kid slammed his head onto here, looking up in surprise. She smiled and pat his head before one of his parents yanked him away. They shouted, bowing feverishly, “Sorry, very sorry, miss!”

Cal nodded and continued walking. She stopped by the garden, seeing a small batch of succulents in front of her. She always have a funny feeling whenever she sees those plants.

“In this timeline, my boys are grown up,” she thought, “This Gaster did a good job.”

The sky was dimming to its hollow navy blue color. The torches nearby are lit, but there are not as effective as modern streetlights from Delta Rune. It was great for Cal, because no one can see her tears. She felt it running down her cheeks from her eyes.

“Why the hell am I crying?” she thought, “Maybe I need some dinner.”

A slight hiccup from her chest scared her. Calypso straighten her posture and took a couple of deep breaths. “Yeah, I should probably eat,” she whispered to herself, “And a good beer with it.”

She found a bench. She finds it tempting to sit down. She stared at it, hesitating. This was a strange moment for her, like her mind was going overdrive. She felt the dread clogging her throat. One of her hands touched the armchair of the wooden bench. She tightened her grip as her shoulders trembled. After a couple of breaths, her grip relaxed. One of her hands took out a napkin from the restaurant earlier where Frisk was. She coughed into it and felt calmer.

“Frisk broke the barrier. This is the only timeline where I met the last fallen human,” she thought, “In every other one, the monsters were still banned. Shoved away into a barrier.” Her eyes bounced from the trees and the grass. The people are now going home.

The atmosphere around the park felt more eerie, too quiet. There was low to no noise pollution besides the scatter of lizards at night. 

The singing slowly echoed through her ears. She almost hummed along with it.

“After this, then I can find my way back home,” she hummed, “My _familia_ is waiting for me.”

She glanced at the succulents before walking away from the park.


	3. The Tenth Reset

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso is sore from getting the tattoo. Gaster visits and motivates her to pursue her current career, however, he is unsure of her past and its connection to his power.

After freshening herself for the night, she added ointment to the back of her neck. Her hands gently applied the soft green jelly onto her tattoo. She hisses, feeling the nerves stinging by her touch. “I hope this doesn’t stay in the next world,” she mumbled, almost moaning in frustration.

A pair of monster eyes widened while they stand by the wall. Gaster was about to visit her, but noticed they were too quiet after their nightly patrol. One of his hands held the binder with updates from King Asgore. He was going to deliver news to Calypso, but wondered about the woman’s constant mumble.

In her room, her words were clearer and less hushed. “In the next world?” he pondered, “Does she mean the afterlife?”

The constant RESETS Gaster performed made him question the definitions of other worlds and universes. With the current timeline, there was a completely new person that appeared out of nowhere. After his ninth reset to the X-Tale timeline.

A human woman with a tired look on her face. She doesn’t look like a native with the current human citizens. When he first met her, The first thing that came from her mouth was-

_“Are you going to eat me?”_

_X-Gaster had encountered her with reports from civilians. A cloaked human with blood all over. She was found on the outskirts of a small town neighboring the new human-monster city._

_This human was entirely weird. Upon the medical treatment, she was mute and limp. She watched the doctors examine her and hesitate to answer any medical questions._

_“Do you have x-vitamin deficiency?” the nurse asked._

_Cal cocked her head to the side, spacing out a bit. She replied, “I hope not?”_

_Gaster was watching by the doorway, curiously and bothersome. Asgore surprised him by asking, “Who’s your little crush?”_

_The scientist quickly denied it, “No, she’s rather odd. She could be a spy.” Asgore chuckled, “It’s all right. I won’t tell anyone.” Gaster frowned in response._

_After the treatment, Cal was sent to another room for resting. After a few more days, Gaster and other monster guards arrived at her room._

_The doctors begged them to let her rest for another set of days because the hospital determined her state of mind to be “a bit broken” or “just not right.” They fear that the interrogation will snap something from the new human guest._

_Gaster paid no mind and walked in. Calypso heard shouts from the worried doctors earlier and was staring out the window. The ghoul monster walked to her bed in a soft stroll. She turned, seeing other dog guards behind him. She wasn’t scared. She wasn’t panicking. Calypso just felt very tired._

_She had seen starving monsters with corrupted souls. After meeting Sans with broken skull, she was a bit unhinged. She managed to leave the Horror timeline with her body in one piece._

_However, after many timeline travels, she’s starting to resent seeing Gaster’s face and his stuckup attitude. Except the Swap Gaster._

_“Am I,” she paused, “arrested?”_

_He shook his head. “No, not at all.”_

_“Oh,” she replied, “Then questions.”_

_She laid back to her bed with a huff. “Always questions,” she mumbled._

_The ghoul monster raises an eyebrow at her before glancing at the doctors. They made gestured for him to leave. He sighed, “Very well. We’ll visit you again when you are well.” Cal turn her head to the window. Gaster shook his head and gestured the guards to leave with him._

_Despite the blood stains on her clothes, there were no wounds found on her body. No scars._

_“Do you have family?” a doctor asked._

_She shook her head, “I can’t find them. I don’t know where they are.”_

_After that, there were no reports on her background. There were no disappearance from the location where she was found. The blood on her clothes matched her DNA. Everything felt odd with her presence. She was treated for a whole month._

_Ever since the last timeline, the human felt exhausted. The pattern. The ongoing changes. Same people, different people, all attitudes. The political climate between monsters and humans. It’s all the same. It felts like, the more she kept on moving forward, the more she’s straying away from the Delta Rune timeline._

_“Maybe I’ll become a knight,” she thought, “Just get myself killed.”_

_After that night, Cal was more cooperative with Gaster’s next visit. She expressed interest with the military and began undergoing training._

_Gaster found another use for her after she asked him about being a knight. He assigned her prerequisite trainings and trial missions._

_What he, royal guard Undyne, and the royal couple discovered were her powers._

_Her trial mission was to hunt down a band of human outlaws. It was slightly rumored that they are conspiring against the human ambassador Frisk. After a week, she showed teleportation powers, healing ability, and perform high-energy attacks. The last ability was known for mages and monsters. Thus, Gaster concluded that she is a mage._

_After the initiation, going on missions, and now protecting the town, Calypso was promoted as a human ally to King Asgore. She was ordered to look after Frisk with the Skeleton brothers and track any suspicious activity._

In the present day, Gaster was still standing by her doorway. He heard Cal sighed against her wooden chair. Her hand gently pat her tattoo with a soft small towel. Gaster recollected his thoughts and imitated a series of footsteps. His left arm held a binder of notes while he used his right hand to knock on her door.

Cal noticed the crack on her door. She straightened her black tank top and pulled the door open. “Oh, Gaster.”

He silently irked, annoyed at the lack of formalities she has. He ignored the lack of armor as well, keeping a cool state of his face. His right hand slipped into his binder and handed her three sheets of paper.

“Here are the reports from your past missions. Asgore thinks you would like a copy of your success.”

Cal nodded, holding the paper in her hands.

Besides the two sheets full of texts, there was one paper that has a portrait. It was a watercolor painting of her, in her armor, leading a small group of human and monster soldiers against a large group of human outlaws in the desert.

“What’s this?” she gestured, turning the painting to him. She was surprised he didn’t leave the room already.

“That’s the identical painting from the recent mission. It is common to send smaller portraits of successful soldiers and their famous battles to their families.”

Cal gaped, “Smaller?! You mean there’s a bigger one?” She smiled at the painting. This gave her a sense of guilt. She was joining the fight, reckless, without knowing she became a symbol of security.

Gaster noticed her eyebrows burrow and her smile shrinking. “What’s wrong?” he asked. He regretted it, confused as to why he would care.

Cal shook her head, “No, it’s nothing.” Her candle flame flickered and the crickets outside her window sang. “I… I didn’t expect myself to be this important.”

Gaster, thinking she’ll ramble, leaned onto her desk. He shifted her candle. “I had my own family. Two little babies,” she explained, trying to restrict details. “After that, I don’t remember anything.”

Gaster raised his eyebrow, “So amnesia?” He remembered the diagnosis from the human doctors.

She shook her head. “Maybe. No one recognizes me here. No friends-.”

“How about the Skeleton brothers and Frisk? They seem fond of you.”

“I meant _before_ the amnesia,” Cal said, keeping her cover story. After years of _starting over in every timeline_ , it serves as a white lie for her. “Thanks to you, I get to enjoy myself here. You and this town.” She stared at the candle and slowly push the papers to the flame.

Gaster snatched it out from her hands. “What are you doing?!”

She chuckled lightly, “I don’t think I should keep these. I don’t really take pride in my work.”

Gaster frowned, slapping the papers on her desk. Watching her alongside Asgore was important if he considered to RESET the timeline, but if what Cal said was true, can his “reset” ability be the source of Cal’s amnesia? This was the first time she appeared, and he had reset the timeline for the ninth time.

“If I OVERWRITE the timeline again, will she be back with her family?” he thought, trying to come up with something to say. Something that would make Cal move forward.

“Don’t be modest here,” he scolded, “You are our top _human_ soldier serving to guard the royal family! One of the most successful and alive to tell it!” Gaster stopped, seeing her smug smile.

“Thanks, Gaster.”


	4. She is Confusion

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Gaster is trying to figure out the source of Calypso's existence. Calypso suspects Gaster to be the cause of the recent Reset. She tested the new timeline with a new course of action.

The timeline wasn’t perfect enough, so Gaster took a chance. He risked using the Reset to test if Cal remains in the town or she disappears. One day, after a series of clumsy mishaps, he gambled. The human Frisk was acting rebellious, manipulating Sans into their AGENDA. Gaster had to plan what day to reset to the timeline. He decide to reset to the day when Cal had her X-mark tattoo on her neck.

After a mishap between Sans and Frisk, his hand touched the Reset button. He was in the void where the red button glow before him. After a slight bleep sound, the timeline had been reset. Purple walls of code warped around him before making a solid environment. Gaster found himself in the lab with his assistant Alphys. He made the excuse to visit Cal’s room.

He held the same binder of papers as the last timeline. The sky was getting a bit darker. His free hand knocked on the woman’s door. His chest leaped when he didn’t have a response. There was no walking guard to ask for her, so he sped through the hall. Maybe she could be on patrol. He sees Frisk, with two Skeleton brothers behind them.

But no Calypso.

Gaster rushed past them. He walked through the streets assigned to her patrol, trying to make sure he doesn’t attend multiple spots like he was desperate.

But he was desperate. Calypso served as a better ideal soldier besides Undyne and is human. If she is gone, there will be less successes with other battles. The one with human outlaws almost costs the life of Frisk.

Maybe Calypso is part of Frisk’s creation. That would mean only they could create and destroy it without sharing the source code to Gaster. The thought made him frown.

“Where are you?” he mumbled, stopping by the park.

He froze, seeing Cal with a child. Her body was in the knight uniform. She had her hand on the human boy’s head, lightly ruffling his hair. A parent rushed to the child, apologized to Cal, and walked away. She only nodded and faced the sky. Gaster felt relieved to see her, but sensed something wrong. He sees her shoulders shaking a bit before she straightened herself. She quickly turns and he hid himself by the wall. He peeked and heard her cough.

“Was she crying?” he thought.

He watched her continue her patrol to another path.

“That’s right,” he remembered, “She mentioned two children.” He recollects her fond look towards the kid from earlier. He concluded that, as long as Calypso remains a soldier, she is lost from her original family. Maybe his Reset ability wasn’t the cause of her amnesia.

Maybe Frisk and Chara are the source of her existence.

"Did the brats create another guardian for themselves?" he thought. He noticed how protective Calypso is over Frisk.

Only a coincidence, he reassured himself. Just in case, he’ll chat this over with his friend, Ink.

On Calypso’s perspective, she was freaking out. She doesn't know the war between X-Gaster and Frisk. She never experienced a Reset before.

“Wait, this feels familiar,” she thought. Her eyes bounced around every tree, path, and the plants. The succulents always gave Calypso a funny feeling.

She raced back to her place and slammed her hands on the sink.

“What the hell?!” she yelled, glaring at the mirror. “Am I on a repeat?!”

The last thing she remembered was Sans acting weird. Scary. Like he was attacking everyone. It started like a normal day. But now she woke up to a human servant who reminded her of her tattoo ceremony.

_“Wait! Didn’t I already have one?” she asked. She exposed her neck to the servant and he shook his head. “Sorry, miss. There’s no mark.”_

She glanced at the mirror and slightly touched the tattoo area. It still stung, felt as fresh as the first time it happened. She took a white small towel and return to her room with a small white container. It held the green jelly ointment.

She irked. “Great. If I’m repeating the day, I have to say the same lines all over again,” she thought. “Maybe I’ll change some words. Unless.”

X-Gaster popped into her mind. She frowned. “If this Gaster is sadistic like the Underfell one,” she thought, “Then maybe this Gaster is more advanced. He could be abusing the power of the timelines.”

She quickly splashed cold water to her face. She groaned in frustration. “Gotta stop thinking!”

It became a terrible habit. Becoming charismatic, strategic, thinking two steps ahead. This happens when she is surrounded by the same people over and over again. “I wanna think simple again,” she sighed. Her eyes glanced back at her on the mirror.

Initially, her eyes were squinted and sharp with a hint of fondness. When she was a researcher with two Monster sons. Now, after many timelines, her eyes were a bit droopy and more sharper. Her body became athletic. She glanced at the dimples by her lips. After each travel to a different world, her body reverted to her initial age, her early thirties. No matter how long she stayed a decade or more in one timeline, it starts over on her own body.

She almost hated it.

“Could Gaster really be doing this reset?” An idea occurred in her mind. A sly smile spread across her face. “Maybe I’ll add details to my ‘mysterious’ past.”

…

One of her fingers took hold of a match and lit the candle of her desk. She took out a feather pen and tipped with ink. She wrote a title, “Stradakum.”

One of her hands opened the desk drawer and showed a small compartment of charcoal sticks. Those were a gift from Gaster, as a form of “art therapy.”

Calypso took out a few charcoal sticks and began drawing. Her napkin softly shaded certain edges of her drawing. She drew a grey bubble with small succulents surrounding it. She pulled out another sheet and drew a figure of a woman with a cloud over her head. Then she shades small clouds around her and filled the background with a misty environment.

Beside her age and the instant healing of her wounds, the current universe had maintained her memories. Her visions were more intense in the XTale timeline. “But why?” she thought, “Why am I remembering my dreams this time?”

She remembered faint memories of a woman named Stradakum. A former associate of Dream and Night. Calypso tried to dismiss them as dreams, but those memories was still intact.

Someone knocked on her door. She flinched, turning around. Gaster already opened the door, peeking in. “You’re still awake.” He noticed charcoal marks on her hands and cheek. “I see you’re already drawing.”

Calypso suddenly had an idea. “Since this timeline has been reset, then I don’t have to repeat the depressed conversation,” she thought, “and if he’s behind the reset, then I have to see if he’s surprised. Then, maybe, I have more than one chance to go home.” Quickly, her mind came up with a story.

Her hand held the charcoal sticks in the air. She smirked, “Yeah, thanks for the black sticks.”

The scientist sighed, “You mean charcoal.” She nodded and carefully shuffled the sketches into a pile lightly. He noticed the Stradakum drawing. “What’s it about?”

Calypso blushed and pulled the desk drawer open. “It’s nothing.”

Another hand fell upon hers, stopping her from shoving her charcoal drawings away. He pulled the front paper out and Calypso tightened her grip. He halted, raising an eyebrow. She pulled the papers back. She set the pile in the middle of the desk. Her elbows propped her head up as she turned the other way.

“I’ve been having visions.”

She sensed him grimace.

“Visions? Of what?” he asked. Her lips almost curled into a smile.

“It’s nothing, just weird dreams-.”

“Don’t give me an excuse,” he interrupted, “Now share or I’ll have you sent to a doctor.”

Calypso noticed how sharp he sounds. She rubbed her eyes and looked at him. He leaned against her desk again.

“Sometimes, when I open my eyes,” she shared, “I was in a bubble. A bubble filled with smoke-. No, clouds.” One of her hands rubbed her arm. “If I try to leave, there are prickly plants, like cacti, surrounding me.”

She nudged her drawings to Gaster with her elbow. He took it as her permission to look. “Since when do you know how to draw?” he asked, looking closely at the shading.

“I don’t,” she lied. Her eyes narrowed at the air. She had her hands folded to her chin.

He glanced at her. Gaster sees Calypso’s eyes becoming dazed.

“I just remembered. I never knew I could draw either.”

Gaster pondered over sharing her drawings with Ink. He doesn’t sense a soul in Calypso at all. He must collect information from Frisk before they interfere with his plans. Maybe Ink could help, as a soulless being himself.

Gaster cleared his throat. “Has this affected your sleep?”

The woman shook her head. “No. Maybe,” she paused, “Kinda.”

He frowned. He took the drawings into his arms and turned around. “I’ll talk to your doctor about this,” he said, walking to the door. Calypso’s chest leaped. Her plan was working. Still, she has to act normal. She reached out, “Wait! Those are personal-!” “Don’t worry, your drawings will be safe with me.”

“Gaster-.”

“Please get some sleep.” With that, he closed the door and walked down the hallway.

Calypso pumped her hand in the air. She grinned to herself, “He bought it! Now time to build my own machine!”


	5. Her Own Lab

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Trying to go back home, Calypso found a place to build her own box machine. She realized an advantage to her magic.

Since her treatment from the doctors, Calypso felt hopeful for her personal project: how to go home.

There had been delays to her progress though.

In XTale, the monsters had been freed from the underground. When Calypso first appeared, she wasn’t hunted down or captured.

During the treatment in the hospital, she was provided a lot of care and therapy. Despite feeling better and less dazed, she wanted to get rid of herself in the most dangerous career as possible; as a royal guard.

Unfortunately for the suicidal human, the current timeline has been rendered as Pacifist. There was no war between humans and monsters. Everything, including handling human outlaws and occasional criminals, had been easy. Thus, no one posed a threat to her.

Besides criminals, other people are warming up to her. Again.

The Skeleton brothers already call themselves her friends. The royal family called her as their family friend. Even Frisk wanted Calypso to take the title of “Mom Number Two.”

Calypso didn’t like that. She hated the fondness. She was just following orders to protect Frisk, which wasn’t dangerous enough.

What kept her purpose solid was _the_ fact. Whenever she glanced at the grown Skeleton brothers, she said to herself: “These aren’t my sons.”

“They are not real to me.”

“I’m not their mum.”

That’s why she needs to pursue her project. The accursed box machine.

…

Back at her dorm, Calypso shed her armor and dressed in her brown flowy shirt and black dress pants. She wrote comfy sandals and put on her only brown gloves. She noticed that it looked new, not worn out after years of travel. She shrugged it off and look under her bed.

There was one cardboard box of supplies. It was filled with gears. She dug around and took out a large battery bag. Then, she took out two cables with metal clasps and a light bulb. She tested it and saw the lightbulb illuminated. She smiled at her accomplishment. Due to new minerals of this timeline, she created a solar-powered battery.

The village was a bit old-schooled. Gaster managed to create the energy source, the CORE, but Calypso doesn’t trust his technology. She must build everything on her own. And she found a perfect place to build her machine.

It was already night when she walked out with a box in her hands. She wore a black hooded mañanita and rushed through the forest.

The human rushed to the beach and placed the box on the sand. Her right hand took out a charcoal stick from her belt and drew a magic circle in the air. It glowed purple. She created a barrier around the box. Soon after, she took the box and walk towards the shore. She stepped in and slowly started swimming deeper.

Calypso had found a secret place during patrol. It was one of the hottest days in the summer. The night was humid, so she took a quick swim to the near ocean.

_The ocean was warm water, unlike the cold ocean she grew up with. She noticed a neat tunnel. One of her hands, an orb of light slowly glowed in form. She swam forward and into the tunnel. It was mostly wide, with tiny corals and fishes at the walls. Around Calypso’s head, she had a magic bubble of air around her head. Occasionally, the bubble is resupplied from the oxygen of the water._

_Calypso noticed an opening after the end of the tunnel, which it was completely black. She poked her head out of the water, feeling a cool air._

_“Where am I?”_

_She held her hand high. The orb of light started moving around, like a drone with a flashlight. It was inspecting. There was walls and walls of clean rock. Calypso found a floor of the rock and climbed onto it. It was mostly dry and cold. She shivered._

_“Did I find a cave?” she whispered, looking around. She created more orbs of light and motion them to the ceiling of the cave._

_She was right. She found an underwater cave._

_She smiled to herself, “Perfect.”_

_…_

She was so close to finish the machine until the reset happened.

Calypso visit her cave after making a new battery. She prepared to see her makeshift lab empty.

When she swam with the box to the ocean, she went through the same tunnel. Her orb of light guided her to the cave.

However, the orb of light illuminated a shine at a familiar barrier.

Calypso gasped. “That’s my barrier!”

A smile soon stuck onto her face as she passed through her holographic barrier and climbed onto the cave floor.

Her old battery packs and the machine prototype was still there. Completely safe.

On the floor, there was a spell that she made. There was a black circle with mage-symbols that she taught herself through the years. Around the circle, the words stated, “Proteccion del todo.”

Calypso popped her air bubble and sniffed the fresh, cool atmosphere of the cave. She set the box down and squat near her spell writing on the cave floor.

“This is interesting,” she mumbled. The holographic barrier soon dispersed from the box. “Is my magic immune to the reset?”

Calypso was careful to make sure no one followed her, but she’s not the creator of this world. While she quickly worked on the machine, there was someone else observing from afar. By the beach, Alphys was looking at the direction where Calypso swam into.

“I cannot detect her presence anymore,” she thought. She tried to teleport where Cal is, but couldn’t. “I must update this to the data.” In her hands, there was a pile of papers. One of them illuminated a bright light-purple color. She glanced at the ocean before turning back. Her eyeglasses were illuminated by the moonlight.


	6. Her Machine

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso is building her machine. Alphys is observing her. The woman makes another lie.

Calypso had been buying supplies and finished her machine. After years in other AU’s, Calypso took mental notes from monster scientists about the machine. She was able to combine all of its alternate functions, from scanning her body, detecting the elements, and containing orbs of energy and essence.

However, the more she worked on the machine, the more she felt guilty. Her experiments had been successful. That means she’ll succeed with her plans.

And no one suspects anything.

She seems to have an easy life here, like with UnderSwap. There’s already peace and she doesn’t have to hide under a cloak. The current timeline seemed like a good deal to her.

It was hard to deal with Papyrus, who mostly egged her to join his brunch with Frisk or invites to hangouts. Sans acted more relaxed, so Calypso appreciated the efforts. Until he joined Papyrus’ social cause at times.

Calypso needed to act fast. She can't afford to be close to anyone here.

She needs to leave. Especially if the creator of this current timeline has a Reset ability. She will lose her mind _again_.

Whatever physics the original Machine had, she almost understood it. Monster magic wasn’t her strong suit, but teleportation and dark matter was. Along with her new powers of energy attacks and healing, she felt more ready to build her own machine.

Alphys was great help, with vague answers. Calypso befriended her to visit the lab, occasionally bring her a “work lunch.” For materials, she looked around the stores, peeked at Gaster’s lab, for a supposed “bathroom break,” and accustomed to the laws of nature in the current timeline.

There was the obstacle to being discreet, however. Unbeknownst to her, some people have their guards up.

…

Calypso was leaving the cashier at a hardware store. The door chimed as she was about to leave.

“Oh, what are you buying these gears for?”

Calypso froze, hearing Alphys’ voice. In human woman’s arms, she held a box of bronze gears, metal tubes, and wires. Calypso sweat-dropped.

Since the reset, Calypso noticed that Alphys was “bumping” into her more. The lizard scientist grew more observant to the woman’s current life. In other timelines, the lizard occasionally served Queen Toriel, worked under Gaster, or was still a kid. For now, this Alphys is working as Gaster’s assistant.

The human made a crooked smile, “Well, you got me there.”

She thought, “Wait, Alphys didn’t bother me this day. But, then again, I’m rushing my supplies this time.” She improvised, as always.

Alphys and Calypso went on a walk with a box in the human’s arms. She felt like she was being watched.

Calypso stopped by the park and sat the box to a nearby bench. She took out her magic charcoal stick and drew a circle in the air. Soon after, the gears and metal tubes flew out of the box and created a puppet. Alphys’ eyes widen. The puppet was formed like a small steampunk robot.

“Today’s my _mandatory_ day off,” Cal said, “So I thought I dwindle my hobbies of puppetry and mechanical toys.”

The puppet started running around Alphys and climbed to her back. Calypso quickly checked where the stare was coming from. She noticed that Frisk was staring, watching by the fountain. That gave her another idea. The woman turns back to Alphys and leans to her.

“I recently recovered a memory.”

Alphys froze. Calypso smiled, concluding in her head. “This Alphys, either she’s worried for my health, or,” she thought, “she knows what Gaster is doing to the timelines.”

“I used to make wooden toys for my sons,” Calypso said, “Maybe I can open a toy shop after I retire.”

Alphys slowly nodded. “Sons,” the lizard concluded, “Calypso said she had two sons. I must update this.” She quickly wrapped up the conversation and leaves.

Frisk watched as Calypso waved Alphys goodbye while waiting for a friend to show up.

The child watched as Calypso motioned the mechanical puppet into the box. As the woman walked away, Frisk gave a worried look to himself.

“Did Gaster really created her?” the child thought, “She’s too creative for his own good. Unless…”

He glanced at Alphys, before the assistant disappeared into thin air.

Papyrus lay a hand on Frisk’s shoulder. “I’m here, friend!” he said, “Let’s go get some ice cream.”

As Calypso sneaked into her underwater cave, she felt uneasy with the current timeline. She doesn’t like remembering the reset. No one was acting surprised or scared. Only her. She sighed.

“That was too close!”

She pats her cheeks on her face and glares at the standing prototype. A slight headache was bothering her now. “Time to scan myself!”

In the cave, there was the box machine, pile of battery packs on the floor, a large box computer, and a few monitors. She powers the batteries and checked the cables.

“Maybe I should bring a table down here,” she thought, “But would it fit through the tunnel?”

She gaped and laughed, “Oh, right-. I can teleport.”

She laughed to herself. She realized she doesn’t have to keep swimming every time.

The woman glanced at the familiar tall machine and nodded to herself. She stretched her legs and arms. She walked to the Box and typed to the keypad. The box machine lightened up. She turned on the computer and the monitor before entering the machine.

After a few minutes, the monitor dinged. Quickly, she checked the results.

“95% of Dark World Radiation.”

Calypso smiled.

After so many timelines, she figured out the tingling sensations. It was radiation. There is a void in between every timeline, or universe. After passing through the void, she experienced a mystic radiation of the Dark World. Even though it was never mentioned in the following alternate histories, she knew that it’s the root of all timelines.

Her body managed to take in the Dark World radiation and convert it to magic. That’s how she gained more abilities after every teleport.

She is her own power source to go back home. She just needs to extract it on her own, which will be painful.


	7. Paperwork

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> X-Gaster request help from an old friend. Ink shared his findings with Dream.

Gaster couldn’t find the source code of Calypso. He couldn’t see Frisk’s code signature on her either. It was bothering him. Alphys added more information that rely on the woman’s storyline than logical explanation about her code.

Calypso seems to be freer than the creators.

Gaster used his last resort to call his friend. He was waiting in the middle of a forest with a few papers in hand.

A loud of splashing sound reached his ears.

“Heya!”

Ink Sans widen his eyes at Gaster’s delivery. He grinned at the scientist before taking Calypso’s charcoal drawings from his hands. He noticed the doodles of the woman and the clouds.

“I’ve seen this before!” Ink said. He looked around the forest. “How’s your experiment kids going along?”

Gaster frowned and looked the other way. “The event is proceeding as planned. This character, however, is very new. I cannot find her source code.”

“Ah! A mystery!” Ink gleamed. He pondered a bit, “As you have your plans, the kids probably created some spice this time. If Calypso had her own storyline here, you shouldn’t interfere with her business.”

Gaster nodded. Ink return to his puddle of paint. Gaster looked where Ink left before walking away.

Ink was back at the Doodle Sphere. He had the charcoal drawings spread out in the air. Dream, who was summoned, widen his eyes.

“That’s… Stradakum,” he stuttered. His fingers gently grasp the edge of the paper. He noticed the writing on the paper. “It even has her name on it.”

Ink eagerly nodded. Dream had painted watercolor portraits of his late friend before. “Yeah, you told me about her!” Ink said, glancing at the other paper. The next drawing was about a huge bubble with succulents around it.

“What could this mean?” Dream asked, “Can there be alternate Stradakum’s linked into one?”

The question made Ink vomit paint in excitement. He never tracked one character throughout the whole multiverse before, besides Error. The first time he heard about her was Dream’s perspective. Then, the “Calypso” person that Gaster mentioned a few times.

He tapped on his chin with a pencil, “Not sure. This could be a trend among the creators.”

Dream frowned, not agreeing with Ink’s ideology.

The papers around them floating peacefully. The yellow tone in the background gave a soft, fond vibe.

Ink noticed Dream’s expression and kept his grin. “I think these are coincidences! Every person like her is different in every story, like us!”

Dream sighed, laying on the invisible floor of the Doodle Sphere. He pouted, “I thought I could finally see her again. After her fight with Night.”

Ink raised an eyebrow. Dream told him that he had accessed the dreamscape of a woman. A human that looked exactly like Stradakum, minus the eyes. Whenever Dream finds her in her dreamscape, he tries to visit the timelines where she was at. His timing was terrible. She was either gone or the timeline had no positive feelings he could access through.

Dream still had hope. In most encounters, Nightmare has been teasing Dream about killing Stradakum. Dream would retaliate, saying that she’s not dead.

Even thinking about Stradakum gave his chest a flutter. When he first met Stradakum, he was hoping to teach her how to play games, connect with the villagers, and protect the Tree of Feelings. He wanted her to become another friend of Night, a true ally to share responsibility with.

Maybe this Calypso person can be a new ally, if she leaves the XTale timeline.

Or if X-Gaster allows her to.


	8. The Previous Timeline: Ninth

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso recovered more memories in her Dreamscape. She found out the true nature of the X-Tale timeline.

“Wait a minute. Am I lucid dreaming again?”

Calypso opened her eyes. She was surrounded by a holographic barrier. Soft fuzzy clouds pass through her. “Oh. I’m in my Dreamscape again.” A few clouds passed through her, but nothing really happens.

Except this time.

She glanced at a cloud that was floating in front of her. Not moving. She touched it and was sucked into a vision.

_It was similar scene. It was when she was found. She had a blood-soaked cloak and an unstable mind. She recently escaped the Horror timeline and traveled to the XTale universe._

_However, X-Gaster wasn’t the first to find her._

_A tall Skeleton monster covered his mouth. He froze up, when he was looking for the ghoul stranger. He noticed her hair was disheveled and her clothes were torn. He rushed to her._

_It was snowing. Everything in the timeline was pale, black and white. However, the woman was the only individual with bright colors. And dark rich tones._

_Red blood surrounded her and stained the snow. The human felt the snowflakes reaching her face. The fresh air blew cool wind to her._

_Her hand slowly let down her hood, showing the rest of her long-tangled hair. It looked like a messy ripped braid. The Skeleton quickly kneeled and lean to her eye level._

_“Are you alright?!”_

_He froze when her dazed eyes met his gaze. He gently placed his hands onto her shoulders. She didn’t flinch._

_His voice squeaked out, “I’m going to take you to the doctor, alright?” She only blinked._

_The tall Skeleton took Calypso in bridal style entered the town. Right by the front gates, there was a friendly large Dog Guard. His tail wagged when Papyrus ran to him. “Quick! To the human clinic!”_

_X-Gaster, who was only watching the Ninth Overwritten timeline, was amused. He kept X-Frisk under close supervision. He didn’t believe that Frisk would have the chance to create another character._

_Frisk and Chara were also surprised. They watched X-Papyrus rush the woman to medical aid. It became the topic of the town. A monster that found a woman with a bloody robe._

_“She’s dressed like a mage!” a human whispered._

_“A mage? Maybe a witch-.”_

_“Hush now! The monster guards are here!”_

_The gossiping humans quick dispersed when Undyne and Mettaton entered a small clinic. Papyrus was pacing around the waiting room._

_“Papyrus, darling, you look ill,” Mettaton said. Papyrus gulped and nervously smiled, “Yeah, but it’s nothing I can’t handle.”_

_Undyne, in her Royal Guard uniform, wrap an arm around Papyrus. “Cheer up! At least you found her alive, right?”_

_The tall Skeleton fidgeted, “I hope. She looks like she lost a lot of blood.”_

_A nurse cleared her throat. She was a bird monster with a blue nurse uniform with a grey clipboard in her wings. “Mr. Skeleton?”_

_The nurse later shared the news. Calypso wasn’t physically damaged, but her mental state is unstable. Papyrus clutched his fists, being determined for his new friend._

_Not long after, his peers realized Papyrus became attached to the new woman. Some think he had a crush. But Papyrus felt obliged to help Calypso. He had met the mysterious ghoul, a lizard assistant, and the human child outside of town, but they kept their distance from him. Papyrus wanted to at least make a difference with any of them._

_If there was a monster kind of Determination, it would have been him._

_For months, Papyrus had helped rehabilitated Calypso. He pried about family, memories, and jobs. In this timeline, Calypso chose to share a few truths. That she had two little boys._

_And, unlike the other outsiders, she opened her feelings to him. Mostly…_

_…_

_“‘Cal.’ Do you mind if I call you that?”_

_Papyrus flinched when Calypso glared at him. In the next moment, her eyes gotten soft._

_“Sure, I don’t mind.”_

_They were walking through the snow for an errand. He’s offered to escort her to the local market. “Another question,” he paused, “Why do you look so tired? The doctors told me you’re fine.”_

_Calypso raise an eyebrow. “I look tired?”_

_She glanced at a frosted window and squished her cheeks and pursed her lips. The tall Skeleton giggled. That made her smile, “Wow. Was I a zombie the whole time?”_

_He felt spooked and shook his head. “You better not! Don’t bite me!”_

_She laughed. That made him grin._

_“Say, you should meet my brother Sans,” he proposed, “I think you both will get along.”_

_Calypso suddenly fidgeted. “Sorry, I got plans at the library. I’m-.”_

_“Booked?”_

_She froze. Papyrus grimaced at the pun. “Brother! That’s not how you introduce yourself!” he scolded. When she turned around and saw that familiar face, she tried not to frown._

_…_

_After a year, they were sitting by the fireplace of her new inn. She gotten the job as a librarian and a schoolteacher. She smiled at the window. It was snowing. Papyrus hat a mug of hot chocolate; Sans had a cup of hot red liquid. The human refused to believe Sans heated tomato juice._

_“You remind me of my sons.”_

_Papyrus almost gleamed but hesitate to ask more questions. He felt guilty, especially when Calypso told him that she’s separated from her family._

_“I left when my youngest was a toddler,” she said, “He was so small. So energetic. I fear that, if I ever see him again, he would be tall as you.”_

_She let out a light chuckle. “But that also means he drank a lot of milk.”_

_For some reason, the tall Skeleton felt speechless. Sans just kept smiling. Maybe it was the snowy weather._

_She set the teacup at the coffee table and turn to Papyrus. “Mr. Skeleton-.”_

_“Please! I told you to call me Papyrus!” he shouted, huffing._

_She forced a smile, before leaning into a grin, “Right. Papyrus.”_

_Her hands pulled a binder from under the coffee table and opened a file. Her fingers took out a charcoal drawing and gave it to Papyrus. He gasped in awe. It was a portrait of him in a Royal Knight uniform. He gaped and turn to Calypso. “Is that me?!”_

_She nodded, “It’s thanks for helping me-.”_

_She felt his sudden embrace to him. Her chest was pushes against his. He stood up and spun her around. “Aw, thank you, thank you!”_

_She pulled away when he released his grip. She quickly smoothed the paper. “Be careful. Charcoal drawings are hard.”_

_Sans took the paper and inspected it. “Wow, she even got me in the background. Nice.”_

_…_

_Papyrus was brainstorming about forming a friendship with the other outsiders. He succeeded with Calypso, who was enjoying her small-town life now._

_“Maybe I’ll bring some gifts,” he thought. His hands tied a knot on a bag. He made his way to the town gates._

_Before he left, he slid a note and a small package in her mailbox. In the package, it was a new pair of gloves. Almost identical to her old, worn-out ones, but in mint condition._

_However, Frisk had other plans. After Papyrus wandered to the outskirts of town, Frisk and Chara had told Papyrus their secret._

_He panicked. He remembered about Calypso’s suffering and confronted Gaster about the whole universe manipulation._

_The vision of Calypso’s dazed eyes prodded his thoughts._

_“Are they going to make her suffer again?” he thought, closing his eyes in frustration. He pleaded with Gaster. “Please, stop torturing her.”_

_While X-Papyrus was meeting with X-Gaster, Calypso was at the library. She adjusted her reading glasses and took a deep breath. Her seat was at the front counter. Nearby, there were metal carts holding stacked books. Her next book was thick and old. She braced her arms before lifting the massive book to the counter. She opened the book to a random page and discovered the familiar symbols from the Dark World._

_She widened her eyes. “This- This could be it-.”_

_The timeline was overwritten. That was the ninth timeline._

…

Calypso fell out of her bed. Her body sat up and scrambled to her feet. She couldn’t stand. Her heart was racing. She sat in the corner of her room, pulling a blanket from her bed. She huffed.

“What the hell was that?” she whispered. She noticed dark spots on her blanket. Her fingers rubbed over it. It was damp.

More spots spread. Calypso realized she was crying. Tears slid from her cheeks to her blanket.

Her hands turn into fists.

“Has there been multiple resets? More overwrites?!”

In desperate attempt for closure, she threw a blanket over her body and hugged her knees. She learned against the wall and focused on her breathing.

Her tears continued to run, damping on her pajama pants.

“This timeline… It’s not only reset,” she mumbled, “It’s erased and layered!”

Slowly, her magic started getting intense. There was the faint singing in the background.

Calypso realized that she had teleported to the XTale when it was on its ninth Overwrite. When the timeline was overwritten for the tenth time, all her memories of that timeline were sealed into her Dreamscape.

She finally collected her memories. From the ninth timeline to the resets of the tenth Overwrite. Her body froze in panic.

She never experienced this before.

For her previous travels, she just passing through timelines in a single file line. There was no time travel. Every monster around her were growing older while her body reverts to her thirties. She watched as the next Papyrus was standing tall and proud. Along with Sans’ mature state of mind.

These resets were driving her mad.

“This place- It’s corrupted!”

Before she could dress up and run away from the town, there was a knock on the door. Her human servant poked his head through the door.

“Miss Calypso? Frisk and the others are waiting for you.”

Calypso’s heart raced. The echoes of singing grew louder in her ears.

Still, her servant didn’t see her expression. He only saw her huddled in a corner with a blanket. He heard her voice chirp out.

“O-Okay! I’ll get dressed!”

The servant sweatdropped.


	9. Homemade Goods

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> After recovering her memories, Calypso invited the Skeletons' family for a taco night. Frisk and Gaster are thrown off-guard by her behavior.

Calypso needs her favorite stress food, tacos and chocolate. With her memories coming back to her, she had a nagging headache. She doesn’t acre who created the reset. She’s going to start acting different now, changing course of action.

“These 'creators' here can kiss my butt,” she thought, changing her pajamas.

When she met with Frisks and the Skeleton brothers, they were surprised to see her casual wear.

She had the dark grey dress pants, rick brown blouse, and a golden yellow poncho over it. She held a few tote bags in her arms.

Sans, who was quiet for a while since the reset, widen his eyes.

Papyrus was surprised, “Oh, you’re not wearing your uniform today, Cal?”

The woman stretched her back and yawned. “Nah, I have this massive headache,” She said, “I think I’ll end my shift early. I wanna buy groceries.”

Papyus gleamed, “Oh! I never seen you cook before! What are you making?”

“Tacos,” she said, “And chocolate enchiladas.”

She got everyone’s attention. Sans immediately drooled at the mention of tacos.

X-Sans, like other Sans, is a big fan of tacos. Original Sans, who was raised by Calypso, was raised with her Hispanic cooking along with Papyrus.

An observation crossed X-Sans mind. “Wait, Calypso wasn’t this casual before.” He glanced at her while she was happily chatting with Papyrus. He glanced at Frisk before they return their gaze. He shook his head and covered his mouth with the black turtleneck. “Maybe Cal is going through something similar as I am.”

While Calypso wanted to relax and have a cooking night, the creators and Sans thought she’s scheming for something. They wonder what this new creation will do next.

Calypso nudged her elbow to Papyrus’ side. “If you want, you and Sans can come over for dinner. Bring Mr. Gaster too.”

…

“Absolutely not.”

Papyrus gaped, “Aw! Why?!”

Gaster turned to the kitchen, “We already have our own dinner. After this, I have to go to the lab.”

The tall Skeleton pouted, “But Cal seemed so happy today! Plus, she’s inviting us _and_ you!”

Sans kept his grin and winked at Gaster. “Come on, pops. It’s Calypso _and_ tacos!”

Gaster frowned, thinking about it. He never gotten close to the woman besides military pep-talk.

After his recent meeting with Ink Sans, He’s waiting on his end for Ink’s information. Maybe this is his opportunity to collect more information.

“Fine. Only two hours. Then we have to leave.”

It was more than two hours. The dining room was scented with a chicken, tortillas, and a short sweetness of chocolate. Sans was gobbling his plate of tacos before Calypso placed a fresh batch of chocolate mole-sauced enchiladas to the center of the table. She put a pitcher of horchata and sighed happily. “Alright, that’s the last batch-,” she paused, “What happened to the tortillas for the tacos?”

Papyrus glared at Sans. Gaster had one on his plate. He began to eat when Calypso sat down.

“Sans! I told you to leave some for her!” Papyrus scolded, “She’s our host!”

Sans munched on his next bite, “But I thought we’re the guests-.” Smoke fumed from both sides of Papyrus’ skull.

Calypso smiled at the two. “He’s right, you are my guests,” she said, “And I need help finishing all this food.” Her fork pierced through the tortilla. She scooped up the piece and chew happily. A burst of pride caused her to smile. “I almost got it perfect!” she thought, “Maybe more seasoning on the chicken.”

She served everyone two chocolate enchiladas. Papyrus poked at it with his fork before eating. His eyes sparkled and he turn to her.

“Where did you got this recipe?”

“From my m-,” she paused. She was about to say her mother but knew that she still has the amnesiac cover story. She glanced at the enchiladas. “I-I just knew,” she said, “Like magic.”

Gaster narrowed his eyes. “Did she recover another memory?” He remembered Ink’s advice and continued eating.

“Well, it’s great! It has my favorite things, chocolate and tortilla,” Sans said.

Papyrus served himself another enchilada. Sans stole it by shoving his fork to his own plate.

“Hey! Get your own!”

“Your plate is closer, bro.”

Their argument warmed Calypso’s heart. They reminded her of her own family, her siblings and her adopted monsters. “I wonder,” she thought, “if my sons are acting like that now.”

She noticed Gaster’s stare before one of her hands rub the back of her neck. He looked away and cleared his throat. “Boys, please,” he said, “Behave.”

Calypso raise her hand and released a light chuckle. The Skeleton brothers never saw her acting so relaxed and expressive before. All she did was act like a loyal Royal Guard since her recovery.

“They’re fine, G,” she said. He frowned at the nickname. Sans chocked on his enchilada. “They remind me of-.” Damn it, she can’t talk about her siblings. She needs to limit the information she gives. They look at her. She lied, “I forgot. What are we talking about?”

After another hour of chatting and eating, Calypso packaged the leftover food in a paper food box. They were dismissing themselves at her front door.

Sans smiled, “Thanks for the food. Hope your headache goes away.”

She forced a smile, feeling Gaster’s eyes on her. “Haha, thanks. I’ll see you guys tomorrow.”

While the Skeletons walked to the outside, the ghoul turn to Calypso. She was holding onto the doorframe.

“What headache?” Gaster asked, “You should’ve went to the doctor today.”

Calypso tightened her smile. Her hands fidget with the doorframe.

“Well, it’s not a big deal. It feels like it’s going away, a bit.”

Gaster wasn’t convinced. Calypso hated that trait in other timelines.

She exhaled gently. “I- I kinda had a feeling,” she paused, “that I went through this before. Weird visions, and they’re hurting my head.”

Gaster flinched. Calypso was standing in front of him now. Her eyes were dazed, like when she was traumatized by something.

“No matter what happens, you’ll take care of this place, right?” she asks, “Will the boys be taken well under your care?” For a moment, her eyes almost glowed purple.

Gaster sweated nervously. A feeling of surprise and confusion flooded him.

“Did _they_ return her memories?” he thought, “but she’s not attacking me.”

A shout broke the conversation.

“Thanks for the leftovers, Cal!” Papyrus shouted, “Let me cook dinner next time!”

Sans sweatdropped. Gaster snapped out of his thoughts and saw Calypso backing away behind her front door. She waved them in dismissal, “Thanks for visiting. Goodnight.”

After the chat with Calypso, Gaster was more quiet than usual. Instead of the calm quiet, Sans detected a nervous quiet from the ghoul. He nudged him on his arm. When Gaster looked down, Sans wiggled his eyebrows. Gaster raised his in confusion.

X-Sans didn’t know the relationship between Calypso and X-Gaster. All he knew was the co-worker associates between the two. If anything, he felt like he and Papyrus were closer to the woman. He doesn’t know about Gaster’s late visits to her or checking on her medical treatment.

Sans leaned over to Papyrus. He pointed to the box of chocolate enchilada leftovers. “Guess our pops wanted some of that sugar from Cal.”

Gaster sighed deeply in annoyance. Papyrus madly blushed with a grey color to his whole face. “Sans! Don’t you dare say such things to our caretaker and our friend!” Sans was laughing. He felt a light smack from his brother’s hand. He rubbed the back of his head.

Gaster looked ahead, overthinking. He reviewed the data given by Alphys about the woman.

“Calypso. What are Frisk and Chara’s plans for you? In this timeline, you’ve said you lost two sons. Either you are created to become Frisk and Chara’s mother, the Skeletons’ mother, or a mother to some of the citizens here.”

He remembered something important. There was a memory of him and Ink Sans. One of his eyes turned purple. “She is not even in the True Timeline. Calypso, where did you come from?”


	10. The Last Experiment

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso tries to fix the catastrophic event of XTale before she activates her machine. New information and changes will influence her personal agenda.

The X-Tale universe is confusing for the woman. Calypso had recovered memories of Stradakum and remembers her dreams better. Recently, she realized that the timeline has been Overwritten once more after her arrival.

She understood the déjà vu feeling whenever she sees a succulent and clouds. She never knew why Stradakum is connected to her, but that means more research. She was about to engineer a little trick.

At the World Peace Festival.

…

_Before the reset of the tenth timeline, Calypso was at the World Peace Festival. When Gaster experienced a day full of mishaps, the woman was stationed by Frisk and Asgore before Sans suddenly attacked Frisk. The Skeleton was shocked by his own actions, seeing Gaster’s intense eyes. Calypso was gaping, confused. She took out a piece of charcoal and drew a magic circle in the air. She summoned small pellets around her and created a small shield above Frisk._

_The woman was confused to Sans’ sudden attack. However, she kept her distance and looked around. The people were scared, everyone was confused. Gaster had a serious look on his face. Sans teleported himself away before his friends looked for him._

_Calypso turned to Gaster and saw the look in his eye. He looks tired. She wanted to pry about it, but she tightened her lips together. He glanced at her and she flinched. “D-Do you- Should I go after Sans too?”_

_Gaster shook his head. “Stay away from Frisk. Retire to your place.”_

_Frisk turn to Gaster before he barked at the woman. “Now.”_

_Quickly, the woman teleported to her underwater cave. She pouted. “Damn, I never seen Sans with a tantrum before,” she mumbled. She lay on the cold smooth floor of the cave. “If I’m dismissed for the day, I’ll just work on my machine.”_

_Before she performed her own experiment, the timeline had reset._

…

This is her second time reliving that day.

It was the occasion of the World Peace Festival. Calypso stretched her body and exercised in preparation. She was in a good mood. Her machine was ready in her lab and her headache was cured.

Her heart jumped at the thought of home. She felt more relaxed and thought to herself. “Before I leave, I can help with Sans’ mess,” she thought, “One more day wouldn’t hurt.”

For the festival, she wore the X Royal Guard uniform. She joined the Royal family and the Skeleton Family at the ceremony.

King Asgore lift his hands in a welcome, starting his speech. His words sounded familiar to the woman. She turn to Sans and noticed a new smile on his face. It felt disturbing, like Underfell Gaster’s sadistic smile.

Suddenly, a large blaster was shot at Frisk. Calypso created a barrier above her while Gaster teleported in front of Frisk. He had a wall of bones blocking Sans’ attack.

Calypso was determined to calm Sans down. Whatever caused this tantrum, maybe she can find a way to help him. She teleported in front of him and placed both hands on his shoulders.

“Sans! What’s wrong-?”

He shoved her away and teleported. Calypso glanced at Frisk and had an eerie feeling. The child was smiling.

“Lady Calypso.”

The woman stiffened, “Y-Yeah?”

Gaster glanced at her before narrowing his eyes. “Go after Sans.” She nodded and bowed. “Alright.”

Calypso teleported through the town. When the afternoon turn towards the evening, Calypso found him in the alleyway. He was sitting in a corner by the alley.

“Sans,” she whispered. He jumped, looking up. She knelt to his eye level and pat his head. “Are you going to explain what happened back there?”

He turns his head the other way. She frowned. “Alright, you left me no choice.” A holographic barrier appeared around Calypso and Sans. He widened his eyes. “Wait, what are you doing?!”

He tried teleporting out, but his body only fuzzed. Calypso smiled, “Looks like your teleportation powers won’t work when you’re in my barrier,” she said, “Like our sparring. Remember?”

He frowned, “Are you going to turn me in?”

“No! Sans, we’re not mad at you.” She touched his head and sighed. “If you’re not going to tell me, then I’ll see what’s in that thick skull of yours.”

Sans stood still, confused. He watched as Calypso took a deep breath and exhale.

A stream of water vapor seeped from her. It formed a small cloud and covered her head. Immediately, she entered X-Sans’ mind. Blurs of memories granted her information behind X-Tale. It held his fears and confusion. It held the secrets about the “creators.”

His mind was filled with guilt and doubt. He had been affected by memories from other timelines. He was scared to look like a freak.

Calypso raise an eyebrow. “So, this is what happened,” she thought. “There’s Frisk, and someone else.”

Gently, Calypso finished her spell and the cloud faded into thin air. She took a step back and pat her bun. Sans opened his eyes and blinked frantically. “Wha-What just happened?” He felt a bit relaxed, but he was still crying.

Calypso shrugged, “Just mage stuff, telepathic magic.” She snapped her fingers and the barrier disappeared.

Then, the woman shouted. “Mettaton!”

Without warning, metal loopy arms wrapped themselves around X-Sans. Mettaton announced to his fellow guards. “Darlings!”

Sans struggled in the robot’s reach. Looks like he drained his teleportation powers.

He glanced at Calypso, seeing her dark brown sharp eyes. He sniffed and teared up. The usual stoic human looked more serious. He mumbled out, “C-Cal?”

Papyrus frowned at his friend, “That wasn’t needed, Cal. I’m sure he would tell us.” She put her hands up and walked away, “Fine, let him tell you.”

She walked a meter away and glanced at the night sky. “So, it’s not just Gaster. Frisk and another kid can-.”

The world shifted before her eyes. She was in a familiar scene.

“… reset.”

She finished her thought before her eyes were glancing around. She slowly turned her head, staring at Asgore. He repeated the exact same words of his speech, earlier. The World Peace Festival had begun.

“Wait, not earlier,” she thought, “This is the Now. The timeline has been reset again!”

She shivered slightly before she remembered Sans’ attack. She glanced at Sans. He was quiet. He had a horrid look on his face. She was ready, holding the charcoal stick in her palm. He turned away, not doing anything else.

“He’s not attacking?”

The World Peace festival has progressed as planned. There were no sudden attacks. No Skeleton tantrums. Calypso was confused. She decided to keep an eye on Sans, but he teleported himself away. She noticed a stare from Gaster and she sweatdropped. “Maybe I should get out of here. This isn’t my business.” 

Calypso walked through the crowd, wanting to go home.

When Undyne saw her approach, she whistled playfully at her. “Here comes Calypso!” She wrapped her arm around Calypso’s shoulder and pulled her close. “Guess we’re going out of business. No need for us guards anymore!”

“Damn it, she’s holding me too tight,” the human thought. Calypso playfully struggled under her grip. “Yeah, guess I can open my own shop.”

Undyne grinned wider, “Oh, that’s right! Alphys told me you wanna own a toy shop.”

Prince Asriel chipped in, “Really? I can help you-.”

…

Calypso woke up with a massive headache. Fresh memories from the recent resets stung her brain. The bed she was on was stiff yet soft. Her blanket felt lighter and thin. Even her pajamas felt rough. Calypso’s eyes started focusing, seeing pastel colors around her. She noticed a hospital gown.

The woman groaned in frustration. The headache was bothering her. She slowly sat up and sighed.

“Calypso.”

She turned her head. Papyrus was dressed in his Royal Guard uniform. He was walking over from the doorway. His pace was quick. In his arms, he held small package and clothes. He put something under her bed.

The headache poked her with a strong wave. Calypso blinked, seeing the familiar hospital room. “The timeline, it had reset during my rehabilitation,” she thought. A tall shadow loomed over her. She gazes up and saw Papyrus with a pained smile. He was trembling a bit.

He gave her a hug, wrapping his arms tightly. Calypso, still affected by the headache and sleep, nuzzled against his shoulder.

“Do you remember?”

He pulled away and look into her eyes. Calypso cocked her head to the side, “Remember what?”

She was being honest. There are a lot of memories. Which one was he referring to?

Unfortunately, he took her answer as a no. He was referring to the ninth timeline. Someone had unlocked his memories. He granted her a squeeze on her hands. “I’ll get _him_ back for this. For hurting all of us.” He rubbed her hands with his thumb. “Then we’re all have a happy ending… Cal.”

Calypso widen her eyes, realizing what he was talking about. The window slipped open. He left before she could even yell out. He left a pile of clothes seated by the edge of her bed. She quickly rushed to dress herself.

“Papyrus, Sans, what trouble are you guys in?!” she muttered, “Now Papyrus is taking care of me, how embarrassing!”

From a plain hospital gown to a new outfit. A dressy brown shirt with flowy medium sleeves and a v-neck collar. Her dress pants were bell-bottoms with the color of dark charcoal grey. She noticed a familiar fanny pack. It matches her dress pants. She placed it on her waist. There was a crunch.

Calypso opened the fanny pack and found it full of charcoal sticks. She took it out and activated her magic. It fused together and she made a magic circle in the air. “Wow, Paps knows me so well.”

She slipped on her socks and combat shoes that were under her bed.

There was one more folded cloth that was tan brown. She straightened it on her bed and realized it was a mañanita. Her burgundy cloak was destroyed beyond repair, so Papyrus had given her the same poncho in both timelines. This one was different though. There was a hood this time and a layer around her neck. Like a built-in scarf.

Both her hands reach into the air and drew magic circles. It glowed purple and twirled the mage symbols. She frowned. The headache wasn’t helping.

“Should I even stay here?” she asked, “This isn’t even my business.”

Remembering Papyrus’ kindness pained her heart. However, remembering all her experiences in X-Tale frightens her. Especially the memory manipulation.

Her fond admiration towards the tall Skeleton shortly ended. She grits her teeth. “I’m no one’s babysitter. I have my activate my machine!” Angry tears fell from her eyes.

Her lips quivered. “I can’t go through this again!”

Calypso teleported to her underwater cave. She squeaked in happiness. Her lab was in mint condition, nothing empty or changed. She quickly turned on the battery, hoping to turn on her machine in time. She felt rushed. That reset can happen in the next second.

This new machine, built from scratch, will test Calypso’s abilities of timeline traveling. With references from all Gasters’ and Lab People’s research, the box machine will have the combined abilities of mage magic, energy fusion, and essence containment. And a toaster.

A pair of pop tarts dinged with a sense of steam. Calypso grinned and took a bite. “Alright, here we go!”


	11. The Delay

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso has activated her machine. There has been a delay to her plans. X-Sans, now Cross, meets a new friend.

In this moment, her adrenaline reminded her of doing homework last minute in college. And forgetting to pick up Sans during monster high school.

The machine drained and contained Calypso’s Dark World energy. Her body stung with pain was the machine absorbs it. The purple blob soon sparked with light.

The human watched as the energy fuses with the machine. She took hold of the lever and braced herself. Her arms occasionally twitched.

“I can do this!” she thought, grinning to herself. “Just one more second!”

The machine made a loud whirring around.

After a flash, she was gone. The underwater cave was empty.

Unbeknownst to her, the XTale universe undergo a catastrophic change. If she stayed a second longer, she would have seen it shift to a new state.

Calypso noticed that she was sleeping. She opened her eyes. There’s something in her hold. She opened her gloved hand while her vision was clearing up. It was a piece of the lever. The rest of it was gone. She looked around.

She was in a familiar laboratory. It was an exact replica as the underground royal lab. However, there was no box machine in the room.

“No!” she cried.

Calypso’s chest heaved. “No, no, no!”

Her first clenched, pounding on the grey polished floor. She didn’t care if anyone heard her. She didn’t care if another version of Gaster ordered guards to dispose of her. She screamed, feeling her throat rip.

Her voice didn’t fully echo through the lab, only faintly.

After her episode, her face had wet marks streaking on her cheeks. She looked around, hearing nothing. There was occasionally beeps from the machines, but no footsteps. No hissing of lava. No outside chatter. Cal raise herself from the floor, looking around. Her ears detect a soft ringing. She went to the door and opened the door. There is a solid white wall blocking the way.

Cal back away a good number of meters. She braced her shoulder forward and ran towards the wall within the doorway. The harsh impact made Cal gasp, feeling her shoulder crack.

“Well, at least I fixed my shoulder,” she thought, rubbing it.

The lab was quiet. Too quiet. She looked around, investigating the dials and computers. She noticed the big screen and the armchair. She moved the armchair to the middle of the room and turned on the monitor. It flashed a white screen. The computer made a whirring hiss. Calypso looked for the sound source. She traces the power cables, only to see it just plugged.

Her hands grasp the cable. She unplugged and plugged the electronics.

“This place has its own energy?” she thought. She tried prying the frame of the outlet, but nothing moved. Wherever she is now, it’s her own little void.

“Actually, it’s not bad,” she thought, “It’s like that one book series I like. The Magic Tree House.” She pulled the keyboard from below the huge monitor and browse through the computer. There was no internet, but there were programs installed. She pouted in disappointment.

Her pocket watch was still ticking. She thought of another hobby to pass the time.

“Maybe I can make my own robots here.”

She glanced at the beige walls, where the windows should’ve been. She frowned before squishing her own cheeks on her face. “No, this is progress,” she said, “Just a small delay.”

…

X-Sans, now nicknamed Cross, wallowed in a void of white space. Ink Sans had strange timing. Ink collected the info about the Calypso character, which was limited to a few universes, to bring to X-Gaster. However, Ink lost her presence and a new universe had opened. Ink Sans popped into the empty timeline and saw Cross alone. Ink felt bad.

Ink had helped Cross cope with the space. While he went over drawings with Cross, an astral form of X-Chara glanced over. The child noticed the charcoal drawing of Stradakum, which resembled Calypso. He raised an eyebrow at the coincidence.

“This lady does the cloud trick like Calypso,” Chara thought, “And the other Skeletons chased after her in every story. Like they’re imprinting her.”

He turned to Cross while he was chatting with Ink. Chara still does not know about Calypso’s background. He suspects she is X-Gaster’s creation, just as the ghoul was suspecting the other way around.

Honestly, if X-Gaster and the children had a straightforward conversation, they would have figured out that Calypso is an outsider, never their creation.


	12. Cooped Up

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso engineered a robot called, "Cuz." It helped her research.

A soft creak was heard. There was a soft thud. A woman stood by the blocked doorway. The frame wasn’t budged or scratched. The white wall that filled the doorway remain unfazed, but there were dirty marks. It was filled with tally marks made with charcoal. The woman checked her pocket watch.

“Two whole months, maybe” she whispered. She added one tally mark to a notebook. Her brown eyes stared at her watch. She walked back to her armchair. Her body hunched over a metal desk.

A large monitor towered over her, hanging from the ceiling. The walls are grey, along with the floor. The wall was filled with scratch marks.

The woman took a deep breath, checking with her pulse. “It’s been two months,” she thought, “since I got stuck here.”

The room was strange. It is the exact replica as original Gaster’s laboratory. The woman frowned at the thought of him.

She had multiple encounters with Gaster in multiple timelines, Lab Person, Alphys, and other monsters. However, after she had a nearly successful experiment, she was transferred from XTale to this room. A room with no outside world. There were no windows.

Her only entertainment was the computers and the monitors. Besides the large monitor, there were two small ones below it.

The woman pulled a keyboard to her lap and continued typing. Her only hobbies were programming her own Artificial Intelligence assistant and pixel art.

For two months, without seeing the sky, the human was driven almost insane. Thank goodness for science, she was more observant. In the current “realm,” she’s not hungry nor thirsty. There were no human emergencies, like feeling dirty or needing to use the bathroom. It’s like her body is paused. It almost felt like a “pocket void.”

This would’ve made a normal person numb but this only intensify the humane side of her. It wasn’t different than shutting herself in a room for a whole summer.

She groaned loudly, seeing the red ERROR lines at the bottom of the screen.

“What is wrong, Cal?”

She jumped at the sudden speech, glancing at the camera moving towards her. It was her AI assistant, who she named, “Cuz.” His voice was a bit monotoned, but she programmed him with various tones and pitches. She rubbed her eyes, “Nothing! Nothing works! I can’t fix it! And I’m stuck here!”

The camera comically nodded and reached a mechanical arm from behind the huge monitor to her. “Would I be of assistance?” She glared at him. “No. I’m good. Let me see what’s online.”

By “online,” Calypso opened her files of everything she documented from her travels. She kept series of folders and labeled by the different timelines. She sighed, seeing “Home Timeline” starred. She doesn’t know the true names of the timelines, so she numbered them based her chronological order.

Timeline 0 = Home

Timeline 1 = First Time Underground

Timeline 2 = Edgy place

Timeline 3 = Everything swapped

Timeline 4 = ???

Timeline 5 = ???

Timeline 6 = Everything altered

Timeline 7 = ???

Timeline 8 = Flowers everywhere

Timeline 9 = Library World

Timeline 10 = Monsters banished to Outer space

Timeline 11 = Horror, starvation

Timeline 12 = X-Marks, Black and White world, Resets

A charcoal stick was placed to the desk. It rolled to the edge and fell to the floor. The clatter wasn’t minded. Cal ignored it and the camera slightly raised itself. Another mechanical arm extended and picked up a piece of charcoal stick from the floor. “What’s this?”

Cal quickly snatched it. “It’s my charcoal stick. It’s what I use for spell casting.”

The camera cocked to the side, “Your magic? Don’t you mean the compressed Dark World energy? You can use it to teleport.”

She glared at the monitor. “I know,” she replied. Her hand placed the chalk by the keyboard. The camera moved itself to the stick, scanning. Cal closed her eyes, sinking deeper to the armchair. The realm felt weird. After sitting for too long, there’s no leg cramp or back sweat.

“This charcoal has similar readings as you, creator.”

Cal opened her eyes, leaning forward to the monitor. “What?”

The monitor projected the chalk live, showing results detected. “It came from whatever world before this room,” it explained, “The physical properties are normal, but it has elements outside the planes of reality.”

Cal laid back to the furniture. “Oh, what does that mean?”

The robot, if it had eyelids, would narrow its eyes at its creator.

“It’s a magic charcoal infused with your energy. It is telepathically connected to you, so you make the call. This may lead to portal engineering.”

She smiled and grab the chalk from the keyboard. She started chuckling lightly. She slipped on her tan brown poncho. She lifted the hood over her head and put on her shoes. She turns to the camera robot.

“If what you’re saying is true,” she said, leaning to the blocked doorway where scratch marks reside. “Then the answer was in my hands all along.” She took a deep breath. She stretched her body and put on her watch. On the wall, she wrote, “Take me home.”

Nothing happened.

“Hm, what if I wrote, ‘home?” she whispered.

Nothing happened. 

The robot suggested, “How about you think about it, and then write it?” Its creator huffed, attempting again. Angrily, she remembered about the original Gaster and sighed. She drew a huge circle and turned to her robot. “Look, if this actually works, I’ll -.”

A gentle breeze and a strong aroma of grass tickled her nose and neck. Her arms went limp. The charcoal stick slipped her hands, falling to the ground. She turn towards the doorway. Cal’s eyes reflected the colors she was seeing.

There was a portal. A portal opened on the wall. Her mage symbols surrounded it with a purple glow. At the opening, there was fresh grass and a blue sky. Cal immediately took a step out.

Her robot fidgeted, “Creator, wait!” It extended its robot hand to the portal, picking up the piece of charcoal. “Please, take the charcoal with you. Just in case!” Because her robot is planted on the ceiling, it can’t move its body to the portal. Cal, still in shock, absent-mindedly took the black stick. She mumbled, “Uh-huh, sure. Okay.”

When Cal completely went through the portal, the portal remain behind her, wobbling in thin air. She turned to it, looking to her robot. “I’ll be back. How do I close it-?”

The portal closed by itself. She jumped, glancing at the charcoal powder on her fingers. It glowed purple with her magic before dimmed back to its black natural color. “I’ll… I’ll figure that out later.”

The colors around her looked familiar. It matches with her original world.

The sky was actually blue. Her blue. Not hazy blue, or the black and white world in a sepia filter. It looked a lot like her world. Her body leaned down to the grass. Her hands brushed against it. “Green… and ticklish,” she mumbled, laying her body spread widely. Her lungs were actually breathing. Her senses are more alert, more aware. She spent years cooped up in alternate undergrounds or shielded towns and a weird colored XTale world that made her question her eyesight.

Being trapped in a plain-colored laboratory was no fun either.

“If I were to die here,” she sighed, “Then I wouldn’t mind.” The wind brushed with her hood. “I wouldn’t mind this time.” Her mind succumbed to her tiredness, falling into a deep slumber.

“Just this time.”


	13. Frisbee and Pie

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> Calypso's nap was interrupted. She is invited to a picnic.

The woman was sleeping under a shade of a tree. Her chest slowly rise and fall with the motion of her steady breathing. Suddenly, a soft thud landed on her face.

“Sorry!”

Cal opened one of her eyes, seeing all red. She freaked out, sitting up.

The red was gone. She felt something slide to her lap. Cal looked down and saw a red frisbee.

A child voice made a grunt.

She turns her head, seeing a small child. They have a purple striped shirt and brown shorts. She returned the frisbee to them and they nodded. They gave her a thumbs up and ran away. Cal laid back down, wondering about the new weird kid.

She closed her eyes again, enjoying the fresh air and grass. Her body was under the tree’s shade, but slowly, the shade is now covering only her head. Another layer of shadow appeared. Calypso felt something looming over her. There was a gentle poke to her side.

“Maybe, if I stay still, they’ll leave me for dead,” she thought.

In the next second, there was quick poking on her sides. Feeling ticklish, Calypso guffawed and rolled to her side. The tickling kept going. “AH! Stop! Laugh- Ahaha!” She quickly sat up and scooted away from whatever’s poking her.

It was the same striped-shirt human kid, holding a stick. They point the stick to her and looked up to a figure behind them. Cal followed their gaze and saw a familiar Skeleton monster. Sans. There was no edgy undertone or a highly enthusiastic version. He looked casual with a blue sweater and black basketball shorts. Her eyes trail down to his feet and noticed his pink slippers. She raised an eyebrow, not that they could see into her hood.

Calypso didn’t react at all to him. After all, she had seen too many of him.

Sans was sweat-dropping. “Sorry about Frisk. They’re asking if you wanted to join us,” he said, “We’re having a picnic and we have tons of leftovers.”

Calypso’s heart raced. Just when she’s napping, more people are already talking to her. Her extroverted side is drained out. “Oh, I can’t. I’m not from around here-.” Frisk suddenly was on her lap, pressing a finger to her lips, well, in front of her hood opening.

Sans’ grin grew wider. “You can’t say no to that little face.”

Cal’s eyes went back to Frisk’s face, whose eyes are squinted. Their blank expression made this encounter more awkward. She cleared her throat and lifted Frisk off from her lap. She stood up, almost wobbling. Frisk held on to her leg, almost hugging her.

Calypso’s face flushed. “Oh, what a friendly little human!” They nuzzle to her leg and tickled her.

Sans, after hearing her laughter and excited voice, stared at the woman for a moment. He had an uncertain feeling but brushed it off for Frisk’s sake. “Just join us. It makes it easier for them.”

Along the stroll, Frisk held Cal’s hand as they walk to the picnic together. There were familiar faces. Toriel, Monster Kid, monster frogs, and a white fluffy dog. “Wonderful! You brought the Person monster here!” Toriel exclaimed, offering a small sandwich. She leaned to Cal, “I was worried! I thought you were going to become fertilizer.”

Cal rubbed the back of her head. “Sorry, I’m just tired,” she paused, “from traveling.” When she took a bite, she felt a rush of energy going through her. “Oh, right, this is monster food,” she thought.

“Well, that’s alright. Frisk was quite interested in you, after the frisbee thing.” The rest of the chat was a blur. Cal knew their names already but pretended to be polite. The introductions. The small talk.

“Are you related to River Person by any chance?” the goat monster asked. Cal shook her head, thinking about her reply.

“Maybe, in this timeline,” Calypso thought, “I should more honest. I can summon my portal to leave later.”

The woman noticed that there’s no conflict out here. If a monster mom and her human kid are having a picnic out in the open, then it should be safe here.

“No more cover stories,” she thought. Her hand glides the plate before reaching for her hood.

“No, I’m actually human,” she said. Sans took a bite of a pizza slice, munching. Cal pulled her hood down. Sans turned, almost choking.

Calypso’s face was revealed. Her brown wavy hair puffed out from the hood and tickled her shoulders. Her droopy eyes squinted with delight. The sunshine glimmered the brown on her hair. She felt more at peace. No more hiding. No more fighting anyone’s war.

No more serving anyone.

“My name’s Cal. I kinda got lost here.”

What Calypso didn’t know was the nature of the timeline here. The current timeline is the Undertale, the one where, or when, she was whisked from her sons all those years ago. The Sans she is meeting is her actual son, not another alternate version.

“Oh my! Were you able to find your place?” Toriel asked, taking another bite of the snail pie. Calypso shook her head, “No. I think I got farther than where I was supposed to go.”

Sans’ eyelights went out. 

**Author's Note:**

> Wrote chapters of this while trying to study.  
> Tumblr: @creativecalavera, Twitter: @creativeskull


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